The National Basketball Association announced on October 20 that 125 international players from a record-tying 43 countries across six continents are on opening-night rosters for the 2026-27 season. This marks the sixth consecutive season that opening-night rosters have featured at least 120 international players and the 13th straight season with at least 100 international players. All 30 NBA teams feature at least one international player.
France leads the league with 17 international players, marking the first time in 13 seasons that a country other than Canada has led the NBA in international players. Canada ranks second with 16 players, headlined by reigning back-to-back Kia NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Other notable player counts include Australia with nine, Germany with seven, Nigeria with a record six, and Serbia with six. The Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, and Washington Wizards each feature a league-high seven international players.
Opening-night rosters include 70 European players, marking the second consecutive season and second time ever with at least that many. This group includes Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Heat, Nikola Jokić of the Nuggets, Luka Dončić of the Lakers, and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs. Additionally, more than 60 players are either born in Africa or have at least one parent born on the continent, including Bam Adebayo, OG Anunoby, AJ Dybantsa, Joel Embiid, and Pascal Siakam.
A record 19 international players on opening-night rosters have been NBA All-Stars. This group includes players such as Rudy Gobert, Al Horford, Kyrie Irving, Lauri Markkanen, Jamal Murray, Kristaps Porziņģis, Domantas Sabonis, Alperen Sengun, Ben Simmons, Nikola Vučević, and Andrew Wiggins.
In the 2026-27 NBA GM Survey, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić were voted the players most likely to win the 2026-27 Kia NBA MVP Award, with Wembanyama receiving 77% of the votes and Jokić receiving 10%. Wembanyama was also voted as the player GMs would most want to sign if they were starting a franchise today, receiving 93% of the votes.
The record for international players (135) and the record for countries and territories represented (43) were set at the start of the 2025-26 and 2017-18 seasons, respectively. The 2026-27 season will reach fans in 214 countries and territories in more than 50 languages through broadcast partners and NBA League Pass.
The 81st NBA regular season tips off today, October 21, 2026, with an NBC/Peacock tripleheader. The scheduled games include the Boston Celtics visiting the Detroit Pistons at 3 p.m. ET, the New York Knicks hosting the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET, and the San Antonio Spurs meeting the Oklahoma City Thunder in San Antonio at 9:30 p.m. ET.
